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<title>You're the Needle Pointing North by DownToTheSea</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28397814">You're the Needle Pointing North</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DownToTheSea/pseuds/DownToTheSea'>DownToTheSea</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Canon, Tenderness</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:48:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>900</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28397814</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DownToTheSea/pseuds/DownToTheSea</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Baruch and Balthamos are reunited after a long separation.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Balthamos/Baruch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>His Dark Materials Discord Server Exchange</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>You're the Needle Pointing North</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/bene_elim/gifts">bene_elim</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Happy New Year, Basil!!! I ended up having two different ideas for the fic I wanted to write, so I just wrote both of them! I hope you enjoy this, and thank you for being such an amazing mod and friend &lt;333</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Even after millennia, Baruch never tired of being held by Balthamos. He had his arms wrapped around Baruch’s neck now, snuggled against him with his face pressed into Baruch’s shoulder and both wings enfolding him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you going to let go of me sometime tonight?” Baruch teased gently. Not that he wanted to separate, either.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” was the succinct answer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Xaphania will have a mission for us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I am sure some other capable angel will be more than willing to take it up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now I know you are desperate,” Baruch said, smiling. “I can think of no other circumstance in which you would willingly admit to the competence of others.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, any angel can go where Xaphania instructs</span>
  <em>
    <span>,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Balthamos said, shifting against him to burrow even deeper into his arms. Baruch noticed with fond amusement that he didn’t argue the point. “But you, my dear, are so much more than simply competent: you are wonderful and clever and – ”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Baruch let him go on, even when he started repeating himself, not because he truly thought he deserved Balthamos’s extravagant praise, but because he had missed Balthamos so very much, missed the warm devoted presence of his mind close by and the dry music of his voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It had been nearly a year since they had last seen each other, perhaps the longest period they had ever been separated since they met. To make matters worse Baruch had been gathering intelligence and recruiting for Xaphania behind enemy lines, in a world controlled entirely by Heaven. A dangerous assignment, and one that nearly killed him on multiple occasions. But the thought of reuniting with Balthamos had given him all the strength he needed to evade capture.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“ – and I – I am very glad you are back and safe at last, my dear,” Balthamos finished.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So am I,” Baruch murmured, and bent his head to nuzzle into Balthamos’s hair briefly. “I have not had the chance to tell you I love you for far too long.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Balthamos melted happily into his arms. “Well, feel free to make up for lost time.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sounds of Xaphania’s camp seemed far off as they sat together a little ways away from it, letting the warm night air soothe them. True to his word, Balthamos didn’t let go of Baruch the whole time, though he did relax his grip enough to turn and rest his cheek on Baruch’s shoulder while they talked. Of course with the mental bond between them, their memories were already merging into the other’s thoughts, but now they were together again it was a relief to share what they’d been through in each other’s absence, and anyway Baruch would never have sacrificed a chance to listen to Balthamos tell the story himself. He’d missed his sarcastic humor during the long, grueling days away from him; tonight felt like the first time he’d smiled since he left.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the first light of dawn began to break over the horizon, they had mostly fallen into a comfortable silence. In fact Baruch’s head was nodding a little, and Balthamos had gone suspiciously quiet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For the first time in months, he no longer had to fear the briefest lapse in watchfulness, and Balthamos was beside him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Clinging to his beloved like a lifeline, he fell asleep.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When he opened his eyes, he discovered two things: that the sun was blazing overhead, and Balthamos was sitting up next to him, idly twirling a long-stemmed flower between his fingers and gazing at him with pure reverence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Humans sleep for so long,” he said in what was obviously meant to be a lofty tone, but missed the mark and fell somewhere around distractingly tender. “Even former humans. I imagine it has been some time since you had a good night’s rest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That it has.” Baruch sat up groggily, blinking away the sun and wishing he was just a touch more angelic. “Has anyone come looking for us?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not yet.” Balthamos glanced at the flower in his hands, narrowing his eyes at it before setting it down on the grass. “I cannot imagine Xaphania expects to regain use of either one of us for at least a few days. It would be the height of foolishness to immediately send you away again as soon as you returned. Surely she realizes you need a little time to relax.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“About that…” Baruch looked down, picking up the flower Balthamos had been playing with.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Careful,” Balthamos said. “It has thorns.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I see that,” said Baruch, turning it over gently in his hands, “but it is beautiful, notwithstanding.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>would </span>
  </em>
  <span>think so,” Balthamos muttered. “At any rate, what were you saying?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve spoken to Xaphania already. I requested that, barring an emergency, I would be assigned to either shorter missions or ones we could be together for. She granted it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He set down the flower and took Balthamos’s hands in both of his. “We live such perilous lives,” he said softly. “I do not want to waste any time we have together.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Balthamos swallowed. He said nothing, but Baruch knew it wasn’t because he </span>
  <em>
    <span>felt </span>
  </em>
  <span>nothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” he said thickly at last. “I… I shall be very happy not to be apart from you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Baruch tilted his chin up with one hand, tugging him in with the other until he could press a soft kiss to his lips. “Together,” he said, “from here on out.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Title from the song Remembrance by Fleurie.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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